Common Admission Test (CAT): Students, this is how you should manage your time
“One should focus on score maximisation in the Common Admission Test (CAT). The student is effectively writing three 40-minute tests in the span of two hours. One should train the mind to reset and start afresh after each of the 40-minute tests. During these 40 minutes, one should maximise attempts and minimise errors to achieve score maximisation. That would mean that no easy questions should go unanswered and the least possible time should be spent on tough questions, So, question selection becomes critical”
Ramnath Kanakadandi, Senior Course Director at T.I.M.E.
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours - 40 minutes sectional timing
TOTAL MARKS: 198
NUMBER OF QUESTIONS: 66 questions: 49 MCQ and 17 non-MCQs
| Sections of Exam (in that order) | Number of Questions | Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) | Non - MCQs/TITA | Total marks | Time limit |
| VARC | 24 | 21 | 3 | 72 | 16 questions of RC - 4 passages of 4 questions each. 8 Questions of Verbal ability - 3 parajumbles, 2 para completions, 3 parasummary |
| DILR | 20 | 14 | 6 | 60 | 4 sets of 5 questions each Areas questioned - Bar Graph, Arrangements, Missing Data and Puzzles (Games) |
| QA | 22 | 14 | 8 | 66 | Dominated by questions of Arithmetic and Algebra |
| Total | 66 | 49 | 17 | 198 |
MARKING SCHEME:
For every right answer: +3
Wrong answer: -1
No negative marks for non-MCQs and plus 3 for correct answer
| Type of question | Correct response | Incorrect response |
| MCQs | +3 | -1 |
| Non-MCQs / Type in the Answer (TITA) | +3 | 0 |
